The idea for Klaviersammlung developed over several years. Each time I visited the University of Cologne, I was impressed by the long hallway between the musicology department and the concert hall, which houses an impressive collection of desolate pianos from different centuries, charged with musical remembrances. One walks with respect, almost on tiptoes along them, to not disturb their dreams of a better past. Many times I thought about how theirs sounds could become the source material for a new composition.
In July 2011, I finally spent some hours and elicited quite “un-pianistic” sonic expressions from some of the instruments. A large spectrum of those played sequences, together with their transformations, became the starting point for an outrageous sound travel into the sonic world of piano.

Christoph von Blumröder’s relentless work for the study and performance of electroacoustic and acousmatic music has been an inspiration for my own work since many years. Klaviersammlung is an homage to him; a sounding, rattling, screeching, and singing present for this 60th birthday.

original 16-channel version

The audio files are available as mono files (48 kHz, 24 bit)
The 16 loudspeakers are mounted in two rings of 8 speakers each.
The lower ring receives channels 1-8 and should be approximately at ear height.
The upper ring receives channels 9-16 and should have a smaller diameter to approximate a dome shape with the lower ring.

Refer to this picture for channel assignments

To download the individual channels, right-click each link and “save as”